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Journalism of Courage
Global Billionaires in December 2024: In a world fueled by ambition and entrepreneurial spirit, visionary leaders have attained unprecedented wealth through innovation and strategic vision.
In FY 2023-24, the world has witnessed an unprecedented surge in wealth creation, with the net worth of the world’s wealthiest individuals sharply increasing.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, the two globally renowned business personalities of India—Mukesh Ambani, the CMD of Reliance Industries, and Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group—have dropped out of Bloomberg’s $100 billion club for the year 2024.
India’s wealthiest billionaires and Asia’s richest people are no longer part of the ‘centi-billionaire club,’ Bloomberg reported, with Ambani’s net worth declining to $55.5 million while Adani’s lost a staggering $3.52 billion, according to the year-to-date return report.
Looking at Mukesh Ambani’s case, the decline in wealth can largely be attributed to Reliance’s underperformance in its energy and retail operations.
His net worth declined from $120.8 billion in July 2024—during the extravagant celebrations of his youngest son Anant’s wedding—to $96.3 billion presently, positioning him 17th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Meanwhile, Adani’s net worth has fallen low due to the allegations and controversies going around him; while he has already been under scrutiny since January 2023, when the US short-selling firm Hindenburg Research issued a damning report.
This year, the US prosecutors indicted Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and six others for allegedly offering Rs 2,029 crore (over $260 million) in bribes to Indian government officials to secure “lucrative solar energy supply contracts” with state electricity distribution companies.
Even though he has rejected all claims, the conglomerate continues under examination, causing him to slide to 19th place on the Bloomberg Index as of December 17, 2024, with a current net worth of $80.8 billion.
As of December 17, 2024, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has updated its rankings of the richest individuals. Please note that this ranking is dynamic and changes daily based on net worth analysis.
| Rank | Name | Total Net Worth ($, Billion) | Country |
| 1 | Elon Musk | $474B | United States |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | $251B | United States |
| 3 | Mark Zuckerberg | $221B | United States |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | $194B | United States |
| 5 | Bernard Arnault | $178B | France |
| 6 | Larry Page | $175B | United States |
| 7 | Bill Gates | $165B | United States |
| 8 | Sergey Brin | $164B | United States |
| 9 | Steve Ballmer | $156B | United States |
| 10 | Warren Buffett | $143B | United States |
Source: Bloomberg Billionaire Index (As of December 17, 2024)
Musk last week made headlines once again by becoming the first person in history to have a net worth surpassing $400 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
His net worth increased by $58 billion on Wednesday after Forbes confirmed that SpaceX and its investors had agreed to buy back shares held by executives in a deal valued at $350 billion, as initially reported by Bloomberg.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg are significant competitors, highlighting the ongoing volatility in global markets and individual business performances.
Notably, Meta has become the world’s most widely used social media platform, boasting over 3 billion monthly active users. It ranks as the seventh-largest corporation globally, with a market capitalization of $1.255 trillion.
Meta’s stock surged in early 2023, allowing Zuckerberg to reclaim his position among the world’s top 10 richest individuals for the first time since January 2022.
